Adaptations
by statefarmsnake
Summary: Warning: Contains ZaDr. Zim has been on Earth for nearly a year and he's beginning to falter on his quest to destroy Earth. This fazes Dib a bit, since Zim has been a big part of his life for the last year (even if he wasn't entirely good). At what lengths is Dib willing to go to keep Zim up and running?
1. A Series of Failed Experiments

Adaptations

Chapter 1 – A Series of Failed Experiments

It was just any ordinary day at the Skool on Earth. Ms. Bitters was teaching the kids about something crude about the human body, often referencing discomforting things that none of the kids wanted to hear. Zim didn't seem to be too fazed by the uncomfortable comments, but that was mainly because he had already done his research on the human body when he went over to Earth.

Zim, losing interest in the lecture, propped his legs up onto the desk. He felt the need to fall asleep since he had been up all night devising a new plan to invade the Earth, but he knew he had to stay awake to watch one of his plans unfold.

He kept his eyes on Ms. Bitters, but then something hit him on the left side of his head. He let out a light grunt and looked over to see that Dib was glaring at him. Zim simply rolled his eyes and looked down to see a crumpled piece of paper lying right next to his desk. He picked it up and unraveled it. There was a message:

"Zim," it read. "You look very proud of yourself today. What's the plan to destroy the Earth this time? You DO know that it's going to fail like all of your other pathetic plans."

Zim sighed. He grabbed his pencil and sloppily wrote, "Zim doesn't know what you're talking about. And even if Zim devised a plan, then it would be brilliant and well-designed and is bound to cause serious damage." Zim put his pencil aside and re-crumpled the paper. He tossed it back to Dib when Ms. Bitters' back was turned.

It didn't take long for the message to be returned. "You have terrible writing, you know that? And it WILL fail. I'll make sure of that, and then I'll expose you to everyone."

Zim gave a light chuckle. He simply wrote "Silly human doesn't bother Zim!" before tossing it back to Dib. He gave him ample time of a few moments to read that message before messing with a device attached to the glove on his wrist. He pressed a few buttons and then a whirring sound was heard from the top of the room. Zim looked up and smirked. His plan was in motion.

The whirring sound grew a bit louder until eventually it stopped immediately, creating an eerie silence before a sloshing sound was heard. Zim had installed little tubes on the ceiling that dropped mud on everyone in the room but him when he gave the command. Even Ms. Bitters was covered from head to toe with mud. He looked around at his "dirty" work and smiled.

"Oh, my," Zim said with his fake innocent tone. "Don't you all look so messy, _except for ZIM!_ You all should probably get washed-up before someone catches you for being so _FILTHY!_"

Ms. Bitters grunted. "Yes, thank you Zim for that wonderful announcement." She pointed to the door. "Everyone out. Don't come back until you're spotless, but don't you dare leave skool grounds."

Zim smirked as he kicked his feet onto the desk. Ms. Bitters opened the door and walked out. Only… she didn't walk into the hallway like everyone expected her to. In fact, the minute that she walked through the doorway, she disappeared.

Dib saw this immediately and blinked. "Did anyone else see that? Ms. Bitters just disappeared through the door."

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about, Dib," Zim said. "Who would want to listen to a stupid human boy like you?"

"Yeah, what Zim said," a boy said before walking through the door and disappearing as well. One-by-one, students walked through the door. Dib was aghast, but wasn't entirely shocked by the behavior. He was used to getting ignored.

"Alright, well… great," Dib said. "What did you do with them, Zim?"

Zim chuckled before standing up and putting his face up close to Dib's. "Zim is not fond of telling his plans to the stupid earthling boy, but you're about to go crazy, so Zim will spare your curiosity just this once. That door is a portal to the almighty room with a moose. I believe your classmates are being driven _MAD_ right now."

Dib chuckled. "Well, thanks for getting rid of them for me," he said. "They've been making a mockery of my life anyways, so I'm glad they're gone."

Zim laughed. "Hah!" He smirked at Dib. "You're going to join them, _stupid human._" Zim's mechanical arms came out of his PAK, and wrapped themselves around Dib.

Dib yelped and tried to fend off the arms, but he couldn't manage to keep them away. They ensnared him and picked him up. "Zim, stop! What are you doing?"

"Finishing this, Dib boy!" Zim yelled. He centered Dib with the door and prepared to throw him in. "Say hi to the moose for me."

"Zim, no!"

Zim didn't listen to Dib's yells. He threw Dib in without a second thought about him. When he passed through the door, Dib's yells were no longer heard and the room remained silent with Zim.

"Hehehehehe," Zim cackled. "Victory!" He ran to the door and shut off the teleporter, making it a regular door again. He smiled. "No more stupid school kids to get in Zim's way anymore, and especially… no DIB!" Zim let out his trademark laugh.

He continued to laugh until he eventually felt a slight burning on his shoulder. "Ah!" He yelled as he fell to the ground.

It was Dib. He had a wet hand after getting cleaned up in the bathroom and had placed it on Zim's shoulder.

"W-what?!" Zim exclaimed. "Impossible. You should be in the room with the moose!"

Dib rolled his eyes and sighed. "That little teleporter of yours brought us into the cafeteria. I think you missed the room with the moose by… oh, I don't know, A FEW LIGHT YEARS!"

Zim growled and walked outside of the door before anyone could see. "Uuurgh, I can't believe Zim messed up so much. Mark Zim's words, Dib. I will get rid of you."

Dib touched Zim's arm with his wet hand again, making him sizzle a bit. "Yeah, I'd like to see you try."

Zim got his arm away from Dib and yelled from the pain of the burning. He ran down the hallway, avoiding Ms. Bitters' class in the hallway as he left the Skool.

Dib sighed and returned to his seat, his palm in his face. In most cases, he would simply say that Zim's plan just failed, but the plan was so much of a failure that he wondered if it was intentional. He thought for a moment, planning his next investigation of Zim… and his revenge for throwing him into the portal.

The rest of the week seemed to puzzle Dib even more. There was a routine to each day from Tuesday to Friday for Zim. He would walk into class, kick his feet up onto the desk, wait a couple of hours, and then unleash a scheme of his that either didn't seem very intuitive or was just downright terrible. Zim would then leave school early to return to his house and devise a new plan for the following school day.

The only difference between each day was that Zim was slowly beginning to fade a bit. He began to look a little pale; a little tired. His confidence was faltering, and he was running out of witty things to comeback all of Dibs' remarks. He even remained silent on Friday when Dib went on a huge rant, saying that Zim was an alien. No one listened to him of course.

Dib's mind was boggled a bit. He wondered why Zim was being so persistent, yet not so clever.

Monday rolled around and Dib expected the cycle to restart again, but something was a bit different. Zim walked into class slowly, and as soon as he reached his seat, he sat down and laid his head onto the desk.

Dib had no idea how to respond to that, and was even more curious when Zim began to make soft breathing noises with his mouth, showing that he was beginning to fall asleep.

For whatever reason, this irritated Dib. Zim wasn't being himself, and he was about to get to the bottom of it. He walked up to Zim's desk and pounded his fist onto it, making sure to make a loud noise to wake Zim up.

"W-what?!" Zim exclaimed as his head flew up. He then glared at Dib. "Why did you do that?!" he yelled.

"Getting a little tired, Zim?" Dib asked, still a bit irritated.

"Zim hasn't been getting his sleep," Zim said with a yawn. "That's none of _your_ concern though, _Dib_."

Dib grunted. "It _is _my concern. I'm trying to save the human race, and you being tired concerns me. You must've been up all night devising a plan to destroy us like you've been doing all week."

"Dib, lay off him," a girl close-by said. "He's just got the case of the Mondays like we all do."

"Shut up!" Dib exclaimed. "I'm trying to save you, too."

"_Silence!_" Zim yelled. "Dib's incessant yelling is making Zim's head hurt. I'll give you ten seconds to go back to your seat, or Zim will give Dib what the humans call a swirly in the bathroom. It will be most unpleasant."

Dib grunted. "Fine." He returned to his seat and returned his glare back to Zim. "But if you do anything even relatively fishy, then I'll be here to stop you."

Zim growled. "Nonsense. Zim has not done anything to involve himself with fish."

Dib rolled his eyes, finding it both amusing and saddening that Zim still didn't have a grip on some of the Earth terminology, even after being there for nearly a year.

The day went as normal. Once the bell rang, Zim stood up and began to walk home. He didn't even have to look behind himself to know that Dib was right behind him, spying on him as he walked.

Zim walked into his home and was greeted by his "robot parents" and was later greeted by Gir who was, as always, watching something silly on TV while chewing on a piece of cheese pizza. He turned around for a brief moment and noticed Dib spying on him through his window.

Zim sighed as he popped out his "eyes" and hair and turned to Gir. "Gir, will you tell the Dib-boy to get lost. I would not like to deal with him right now."

"Okay!" Gir exclaimed in his cheery voice. He got off the couch and ran towards the door.

Zim then turned back around and went to his room. He rolled up his sleeves and then slowly sat down on his bed. "Honestly… Zim doesn't understand why stupid Dib is so keen on yelling at him when he is so tired. Zim hasn't even done anything wrong… yet."

He yawned and laid down in the bed, making sure that he wasn't too uncomfortable since he had to avoid sleeping on his PAK. He closed his eyes and began to fall asleep.

Just outside of the room, Dib was spying in through the window. He had given Gir a little piggy in order for him to leave him alone (he was often prepared like that).

He looked in through the glass and simply watched as Zim slept. He sighed, almost bored by the turn of events. Dib climbed down from the house, making sure that he didn't fall.

"I can't believe it… Zim's really starting to fail as an invader," Dib whispered to himself. "He hasn't done anything even a little successful in weeks."

Dib climbed off, and looked back at the house. He smirked a bit before turning around and saying to himself, "Maybe Zim just needs a little reminder of what he's doing on this planet in the first place. I'll have a niiiiiice surprise for him when he gets into class tomorrow." Dib laughed to himself, almost feeling a bit dirty for fighting back against Zim. He didn't often throw the first punch in these wars. At this point, these fights with Zim were a game to him. And he was determined to win.


	2. Losing Energy

Adaptations

Chapter 2 – Losing Energy

Zim slept through the entire day and throughout the night. He never did this since he was normally awake planning or executing a plan of his. But Zim had less motivation to get out of bed that night to do any devising. He even had to admit that he wasn't acting like himself. Though, at that point, he didn't care. He was losing energy.

The next morning, Zim woke up and went through his normal routine. He checked on things around the house and made sure that everything was normal. He had to do this every day since he was always afraid that something of his would end up booby-trapped by someone like Dib. Since he slept longer, he was especially paranoid by this.

When all of the diagnostics were run and Gir was put in check so he wouldn't destroy anything, Zim left the house and headed for Skool. He wasn't particularly excited to go to the day's class, but he felt almost obligated to go. He was still on a mission, after all.

Zim walked into class with his arms behind his back. He didn't bother looking at the other kids, and he especially didn't look at Dib who was giving him a smug smile as he walked into the classroom.

Zim sat down and didn't even have to wait a few seconds before a piece of crumpled paper was thrown at him. He didn't look at Dib, who was clearly the thrower, and decided to just pick up the paper and unravel it to read the message: "You're acting really strange, Zim. Is something wrong?"

Zim was confused, since this was the last thing he thought he would hear from someone like Dib. He simply wrote back: "Zim is fine. The real question is, is Dib okay? He must be really sick for making a message like that." He threw it back at Dib. They then continued a conversation using the piece of paper before Ms. Bitters arrived.

"I'm fine," Dib wrote. "I'm just concerned for your well-being."

"Zim can take care of himself," Zim wrote back. "Dib should not be caring or any of that nonsense."

"Well, I'd like to care for my buddy when a bunch of mud is dropped down on him," Dib wrote.

Zim was confused. He wrote back, "What do you mean?"

"Nothing," Dib wrote. He threw it back and Zim read the message. He was still confused, and was a bit too tired and apathetic to create a response. So he then crumpled the paper and expertly threw it in the trash can next to the door.

Soon after he did that, Ms. Bitters walked in. She started the class and everything was relatively normal until Zim heard something unusual coming from the ceiling. It was a similar whirring sound that he had heard a week ago when he dropped mud on the students.

The reason he recognized it was because the same thing was about to be done to him. He looked up and gasped loudly when he noticed that his very own tubes on the ceiling were being turned against him and dropped mud all over him. Since the mud had a form of water content in it, it slowly burned him while also encasing him in the filth. He tried to keep his screams to himself.

"Oh, look," Dib said, trying to mimic Zim's innocent voice. "Zim's all filthy now. How does that feel?"

Zim glared at Dib and growled.

Ms. Bitters smashed her hand onto her desk. "Yes, Zim. You look absolutely terrible. DIB! Why don't you escort your fellow classmate to the restroom so that he can wash up?"

"Me?" Dib asked. "Why me?"

"Because I don't like having you in our class, and neither does anyone else," she said bitterly. "Maybe they'll get a decent grade in here if you were to leave for a couple minutes."

Dib frowned. "Y-yes, Ms. Bitters." He stood up and followed Zim out of the door. "Alright, Zim. Let's make this qui- hey where are you going? The bathroom's this way."

Zim was walking away towards the front of the school. Dib went running after him. "Where are you going?"

"Zim is going home," he said. "He is in no mood to deal with the _stupid _class and Dib's _stupid _pranks that harm Zim."

Dib laughed nervously. He knew that Zim was diabolical, but he had never seem him legitimately angry towards him and the school. "Oh, come on, Zim. It was just a harmless prank. Remember? You try to destroy the Earth, I stop it, and then we start over again. What happened to the good ol' days?"

Zim turned around, still fuming. He was still covered in mud and it was still causing him mild pain. He turned around to face Dib and glared at him. "_Stupid hyuman!_" Zim exclaimed. "Zim. Is. Going. Home. And unless Dib _wants_ to be destroyed earlier than the rest of the human race, then Zim suggests he doesn't follow me."

Zim walked away, leaving Dib completely confused. This was perhaps the first time that Zim had yelled at him. Not because he was meddling with a plan, and not because he was trying to expose him as an alien. But because he had angered him. He didn't want to admit it to himself, but he actually felt bad for dropping a bunch of mud on him.

Dib returned to class and tried his best to pay attention, but between the combination of Ms. Bitters apathy towards him and Zim's behavior, there was no way that he could keep himself from getting lost in his thoughts. It's not like he cared though. He never really enjoyed school much to begin with, not that he learned anything he didn't already know or cared about.

As soon as school let out, Dib was the first one to leave his seat. He wanted to be out of there as soon as possible to release some of his thoughts. He knew he couldn't do that being cramped in a room where most of the people didn't like him or thought he was just crazy.

Dib desperately wanted to go home, but he knew that there was a better place for him to go: Zim's house. He didn't know what he planned on doing when he got there, but he knew that he had to see him.

He got there as quickly as he could and found the best possible route around his security gnome system. Based on how Zim was acting, he figured that Zim would've modified it somehow to make it more difficult to get through. Though, he still managed to make it anyways.

He knocked on the door and Gir was the one to answer it. Dib didn't have the time nor the patience to listen to Gir ramble on about useless nonsense, so he just gave him another piggy and a slice of pizza he had stashed in his lunch box, and Gir simply let him in.

Dib came in on Zim with his shirt off. He was looking at it since it had shrunk a bit and didn't quite fit him.

"Uh… Zim. What's going on?"

Zim looked up at Dib, glaring at him. "Because of your _stupid_ prank at school, Zim had to go back home and wash his clothes. Gir had already destroyed the Irken washing machine that I had, and I had to improvise and use your stupid human washing machine. It was slow and it made Zim's shirt _SHRINK_!"

"Oh…" Dib said, already feeling sorry for Zim.

Zim put on his shirt, and it wasn't very apparent that it no longer fit correctly. He growled and crossed his arms before facing Dib. "Now, why don't you tell me why you have invaded on my home again?!" He growled. "Zim remembers that he told Dib to stay away from him."

Dib took a few steps back and innocently held up his hands. "Zim, I'm just here to… say I'm sorry."

Zim straightened himself, getting rid of his angry look. "You're sorry?"

"Yes, I'm sorry," Dib said. "You haven't been yourself lately, so I thought… why don't I remind Zim what he's doing here in the first place? To invade the Earth."

"Why would you do that?" Zim asked.

Dib thought for a moment. "I… don't know," Dib said. "Quite honestly, I thought of it on a whim and now it kind of sounds stupid."

"That's because it is stupid," Zim said, playing with his fingers. "You're a stupid human boy."

Dib rolled his eyes. "Well, hey. I'm not the only one being stupid. You've been so… down lately and you did an entire week of really terrible plans to destroy the Earth. Honestly, it's actually kind of disappointing to see you fail."

Zim ran up to Dib and stuck his face in front of Dib's. "Zim is NOT a failure and Zim is NOT a disappointment. He is trying his best and the Earth will be invaded and destroyed."

Dib took another couple of steps back. "Zim… that wasn't meant to be mean to you or anything like that. I'm not here as your enemy right now. I guess you can imagine that I am a really curious human and I'm just trying to get to the bottom of why you're not acting like yourself. Like… I'm pretty sure you slept all-day yesterday… not that I was spying on your or anything."

Zim rolled his eyes, but he knew that Dib had a point. And he had a straight answer for him, but he really didn't want to admit it. He turned around and said, "Things have just been a little… different since I first came here, Dib."

"What the heck does that mean?" Dib asked.

"It means… Zim's mission is a little more different than what Zim initially thought it was," Zim said.

Dib cocked his head to the side, getting really curious as to what Zim had to say. "G-go on."

"Do you remember Tak?"

Dib nodded. "The other Irken girl that tried to steal your planet? Yeah, what about her?"

"She told me that the Tallest only sent me here to get rid of me. That this planet was never really my mission to begin with. That… I wasn't a real invader."

Dib chuckled. "Yeah, but she probably said all of those things because she wanted to take the Earth from you. You've been here nearly a year. How could it not be your mission?"

Zim turned back to Dib. If he could tear up, he'd be doing it. "That's the thing… I've been here a year, Dib-boy. Zim's been here one full year while all but 1 other invader have completed their mission. And on top of that… I haven't heard from the Tallest in a month. They won't take my transmissions anymore."

"Oh…" Dib only managed to say.

Zim got close to Dib's face again. "So if you are wondering why Zim has been down, or why Zim's plans won't work, or why Zim is talking to his mortal enemy as if he were Zim's friend… that's because Zim _isn't_ an invader."

"You don't honestly think that, do you?" Dib asked.

"Zim is starting to," he said sullenly. He went over to the door and opened it for Dib. "Now I recommend that you get out of Zim's house before Zim sics his defective SIR unit on you. He will CUDDLE you to pieces."

Dib had to admit that that statement was one of the saddest things he had ever heard from Zim. He was giving up and, despite the fact that this meant Dib and the human race had essentially won, he wasn't prepared to give up on Zim. He went to the door.

Before he exited, though, he had one last thing to say to him. "You're stupid. And your precious Almighty Tallest. They're stupid, too. If you really think that you're going to just give up on the Earth that easily, then why don't you just go now?"

"B-bu…" Zim started.

Dib cut him off. "But you have to remember what you've made of this place. Whether it be bad or good, in the year that you've been here, you've made some differences. So you can determine if you're stupid or not. Because a stupid person would just do all of that work and leave. So yeah… how stupid are you, Zim!"

"Zim isn't stupid!" Zim exclaimed.

"Good!" Dib yelled back. He left the house, avoiding Zim's gnome security system.

Zim closed the door and looked back at the house. Although everything was exactly the same since he moved in a year ago, he had a bit of a different perspective of it now. Gir was happily watching some stupid TV show. There were some fresh new dishes in the kitchen after Gir cooked something for Zim a couple of nights earlier. There was trash all over the floor from when Zim chased Gir around the house in order to "punish" for his incompetence.

He put a bit of life in the house. And according to Dib, he had put a bit of life in other people's houses, too.

"Zim has made a difference," he said to himself.


	3. Realizations

Adaptations

Realization

Dib paced back and forth in the living room. Gaz was playing video games like normal, and other than the sounds coming from her game, the house seemed relatively quiet. Which made Dib's pacing even more apparent to Gaz.

"Dib… sit down," Gaz said, annoyed. "Your stupid pacing is distracting me."

Dib sighed. "I can't. I have too much on my mind, and the only way for me to get rid of these stupid thoughts is if I move around and think about them."

Gaz groaned and looked at him for a moment before returning her attention back to her game. "Dib, get over it. Zim got mad at you. So what? He does that all of the time, and you two get in a bunch of stupid fights."

"Yes, but this time was different," Dib said.

"Yes, but you forgot to factor in the fact that I don't care about your problems," Gaz said. "If you have a problem with Zim or anyone, then you should fix it yourself instead of bugging me about it with your pacing."

"So you're saying that I should go to Zim's house and get this whole thing resolved?" Dib asked.

Gaz nodded. "I don't know what you said, but it involves you getting out of the house," she said. "That's good enough for me."

Dib groaned. "Yeah… whatever, Gaz." He went over to the door and opened it. He was about to rush out and run towards Zim's house, but something a bit unexpected happened.

Zim had already come to him. He looked a bit tired, and almost a bit frazzled.

"Zim, what are you doing here?"

"What did you mean when you said that I made a difference?" Zim asked.

"Wh-wha?" Dib asked, feeling a bit confused by Zim's words.

Zim got closer to Dib's face and yelled, "It's not a hard question! You told me that I make a difference. What did you mean?"

Dib looked back into the house and noticed that Gaz was staring at both of them. He pushed Zim back a bit and they both left the house, closing the door behind them.

"Well?" Zim asked.

Dib thought for a few moments, looking in many different directions to see if he could think of a direct answer for Zim. It took him a few moments until he was able to think of something. "I don't know how you changed the rest of the planet, but you changed me a lot."

"How so?" Zim asked.

"You gave me something to believe in," Dib said. "Something for me to strive for."

"Dib, you're not making any sense," Zim said. "Maybe if you would use that puny brain of yours."

Dib growled. "Fine! All of my life, I believed that aliens and any other extraterrestrial beings existed and I had decent evidence to prove it to myself. But when no one believed me, I almost gave up on the whole thing, but you. You showed up and you showed me that I was officially right."

"Yeah, so?" Zim asked. "I've been sent here to destroy you humans and wipe your planet of any living being. You're happy with me around simply because I made you right?"

Dib sighed. "It's not just that. Every time that I defeat you and your plans, I feel like I've accomplished something and did something of actual significance."

Zim laughed. "Yeah, but you're the only one who will ever know that you had any significance on this planet. You still can't even get a single human to believe you about my existence, stupid Earth boy!"

"That's actually the last part that I wanted to say," Dib said.

Zim stopped laughing almost immediately. "Hm?"

"You're the only one who seems to pay attention to me," Dib said. "It may sound stupid, but an irken is paying more attention to me than any of the 7 billion humans on this planet, including my dad and my sister."

"Well, I only do that because you keep getting in the way of my _devious_ plans," Zim explained. "It's not like I do any of that because I actually care about you, stupid human boy."

"Yeah, I get that. But it's still much more than what I've been getting for the past, well… lifetime."

Zim turned around and stared at the sky. "Then why do you side with the humans?" Zim asked.

Dib thought for a moment, thinking deep in his memories to discover something that would make him like mankind and the way that they treated him. Despite all of that, he simply stared at Zim's backside with empty eyes and said, "I don't know."

"Well, you think about that," Zim said. "For now, Zim is feeling better and is now ready to deploy the next stage of his plan on the classroom tomorrow morning. I guarantee that you and your classmates will be no more by tomorrow afternoon."

"Why tell me that?" Dib asked.

"Well, you're going to want to stop it, won't you?" Zim asked. "You would've found out somehow anyways. Zim knows Dib, by now."

"I guess," Dib said.

"Good," Zim said. He walked away from Dib's house.

Dib was in a bit of shock. Something had clicked in his head.

And he had no idea how to deal with it.

Back to pacing for several hours.

The following morning, Dib got out of bed and rubbed his eyes. He didn't get very much sleep last night, and he could already feel the fatigue making a mockery of him as he went downstairs to eat his breakfast.

Dr. Membrane, Dib's father, looked over to his son and said, "You sound awfully quiet, son. Is there something on your mind?"

"Huh?" Dib asked, missing at least half of what his dad said. He thought for a moment and then processed it all. "No Dad, I'm fine. Yesterday was just a long day and I didn't get very much sleep."

"Well, did you use my drug to help you sleep?" Dr. Membrane asked.

"No," Dib said, sounding a bit aggravated. "The first time I used it, it was because I was your guinea pig, and it made me throw up 9 times and forced me to stay at the hospital overnight."

"Oh… yes. Well if there's something that you ne-…"

Dib simply tuned his dad out, grabbed his backpack, and left the house without even saying goodbye. He figured that either his dad is still talking and didn't even realize he was gone, or he would simply forget the conversation took place in a couple of hours.

He walked to Skool and sat at his desk. He laid his head on the desk and turned it towards the door and saw Zim walk in with a confident grin. He found it surprising that after only a single night, Dib and Zim's situations were flipped. Dib was now the one feeling fatigued and unmotivated, and Zim was the one ready to take on the day.

Dib took this as a sign that Zim was about to win in his first successful task as an invader.

He didn't care.

The class went like normal until very familiar occurred. Zim fumbled with something on his wrist, there was a whirring noise, and the ceiling then doused everyone with mud.

Ms. Bitters was getting fed up with this. "We need to fix that _stupid_ ceiling! You know the drill. Come back when you're absolutely spotless."

Zim, being the only person in the room who was clean, kicked his shoes up onto the desk and waited for his plan to unfold.

Dib was the last one to stand up and noticed that, like last time, people were disappearing as soon as they went through the door. The door was a portal again.

He waited until absolutely every kid and Ms. Bitters was out of the room, leaving Zim and Dib alone.

"Did you seriously just do the exact same plan as last time?" Dib asked.

"Yes, seriously," Zim said. "But this time, Zim has fixed the portal and it should take you to the correct location this time!"

"The room with the moose?" Dib asked.

"Precisely, stupid human!" Zim exclaimed. "Zim is _victorious_ over his crude classmates!"

"I don't believe you," Dib said. "Did you test it yourself?"

Zim nodded. "Yes, it is working perfectly now. You are welcome to check it out yourself. Just poke your big head into the portal to see that Zim was right."

"How do I know that you won't just push me in?" Dib asked.

Zim gasped. "Do you really think I want to end you this way?" he asked. "That's insulting to _Zim!_ I'd like to finish you _my way_."

Dib rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I'll just trust you better if you take a step back."

Zim sighed. He went to the back of the room and waited for Dib to enter the portal.

Dib nodded and went over to the portal. Slowly but surely, he put his head through and saw what he didn't expect to see.

It was a white room. In the center was the moose, and surrounding was Ms. Bitters and the rest of his classmates. They almost seemed… hypnotized by the moose.

Dib didn't want to fall to the same fate, so he quickly pulled his head back out of the portal and he was back in the classroom again. Only a few moments after Dib was brought back, Zim was at his side, taking down the portal and making it a regular door again.

"Y-you were successful?" Dib asked.

"Yes, I just told you that," Zim said. "Dib should believe Zim more often. Zim has a bigger brain."

"Y-you were successful! And I didn't make any attempt to stop you," Dib said, shocked by his own behavior.

"You're pointing out the obvious," Zim stated. "Why are you doing that?"

Dib sighed. "I'm just a bit shocked is all."

"I'm not," Zim said.

"Why is that?"

Zim cleared his throat. "Zim thought about what Dib said yesterday, and it got him thinking a lot."

"Thinking about what?" Dib asked. He felt strange asking Zim questions, but he really wanted the answers at this point.

"You hate the humans," Zim said, smiling.

"What, no I don't!" Dib exclaimed.

"Really?" Zim asked. He pulled out a small screen from his PAK and it showed an image of Dib. It was some footage from the previous day. He played it.

"_Yeah, I get that," Dib said. "But it's still much more than what I've been getting for the past, well… lifetime."_

_The 'camera' turned away from Dib and looked at the sky. "Then why do you side with the humans?" Zim asked._

_There was a long silence. "I don't know," Dib eventually said._

Zim stored the screen back in his PAK and repeated, "You hate the humans. They have done nothing but hurt you."

Dib growled, but it wasn't directed at Zim. It wasn't directed at anyone in particular. He turned around, trying to hide his weakness. "Why do you care?"

"Because you spent an entire year defending them," Zim said. "You wasted all of that time to protect the planet that's been rejecting you since day one."

"So… I should just turn my back on my own planet?" Dib asked. "Let some strange alien creature go in and destroy in everything just so that he could impress his precious Almighty Tallest?"

"Yes," Zim said bluntly. "If Dib continues to defend people that despise him, then he's stupider than he thinks. Because a stupid person would save people who make them unhappy. So yeah… how stupid are you, Dib!"

Dib's eyes widened a bit. He turned away from Zim for a quick moment as he thought for a moment. He eventually turned back and wiped away his confused and fearful face. "Not stupid at all."

"Then wh-…"

Zim was cut off by Dib. "I want to help you destroy human life."

Zim's smile slowly curved upwards. "Well that's something, Dib-worm. Or… Invader Dib, I should say."


	4. Trust Me

Adaptations

Trust Me

"I want to help you destroy human life."

Zim's smile slowly curved upwards. "Well that's something, Dib-worm. Or… Invader Dib, I should say."

Zim was about to happily walk away from the classroom when Dib grabbed onto his arm. "What, is there something else?"

"I'm not that easy," Dib said. "I just told you that I want to destroy my entire race with an alien that I've only known for a year. Did you think it was going to be this easy?"

"You're not a very bright human," Zim said. "Yes, Zim thought it was going to be that easy."

"Well, it's not."

"Why not?"

"Because I still don't trust you 100%."

"You don't?" Zim asked, cocking his head to the side. "Why not?"

Dib sighed. "Zim, you're an invader. One of your main goals on this planet is to be deceitful. You could easily leave me here on Earth while you execute a plan to destroy it all."

Zim thought for a moment, placing a hand on his chin. "Hm… you have a point. What do you suggest, stupid human?"

Dib thought for a moment, turning away from Zim. After a couple of seconds, he turned back around and told Zim the first thing that popped into his head. "I want to meet your Tallest."

"Almighty Tallest Red and Purple?" Zim asked, a bit hesitant. "I…. don't think they would appreciate it very much if I brought a human onto an irken transmission. Which brings me to my next thought."

Zim walked up into Dib's face. "How can I trust you? How do I know your stupid big-head won't waltz onto an irken battleship and destroy it from the inside?"

Dib smiled, pushing Zim back. "Because I've had some to think."

"Stop playing games with me, stupid Dib-worm," Zim growled. "What kind of thinking? You've been doing too much of it."

"Well, I know a lot more about Earth than you do," Dib said. "Let's face it, you need information from a human who's lived here his entire life."

Zim thought for a moment. "I guess you are right. But I still don't exactly trust you. In fact, now that I think about it, I find it stupid that you have been spending all of a year trying to defeat me, and now you're suddenly on my side." He bonked his head up against Dib's. "Highly suspicious, stupid human."

Dib pushed Zim away from him. "It's complicated."

"No, Zim thinks it's pretty simple," he said, crossing his arms.

"Then, why don't you explain it to me?" Dib asked. "Explain it to me. Because, I swear I DO NOT know what I am doing right now." He began to break down a bit. A bunch of thoughts were rushing at him all at once.

"Dib, calm down," Zim said, ironically. "You won't get anywhere with you yelling like that in the middle of Skool. Geez, have some decency."

Dib blinked. He had a strong urge to make fun of Zim for saying that, but he didn't have the 'decency' to do so. Though, he did have one question for Zim. "Zim… if all of the irkens decided that you were stupid and not worth your time, and it was like that all of your life, would you ever consider going against them?"

"Not even a little," Zim said immediately. "Why would you even consider that a possibility?"

Dib gave Zim a look, reminding him that he was doing just that.

"Oh," Zim said, backing off a bit. "Listen, Dib-worm. I'm going to give you some genuine Irken advice, so listen closely. As much as I do enjoy that you want to join the side of the winners, I understand it if you want to stick with your stupid human race and die in a pit of hot lava when we destroy this place."

Dib blinked. "I-I…"

Zim turned around. He tried a more dominant approach, much like the approach the Almighty Tallest would go for with him. "I'm waiting, Dib. Zim doesn't have all day."

Dib grunted in frustration. "Ooooh. Fine!"

Zim turned around and cocked his head to the side. "Fine? Fine, _what?!_"

"Fine, I'll join you and the aliens to destroy the Earth. Officially this time!"

Zim smiled, bringing his hands together. "Hehehe. _Excellent! Success! _I am _Zim!_" Zim shot his hands up in the air and waved them around a bit.

Dib blinked. "Fine, but bring me to your leaders. I want to talk to them still."

Zim sighed. "Oh, alright, you persistent little human. Though, if they don't trust you in any way, they'll probably kill you, so my problem is solved no matter what."

"They'll kill me?" Dib asked, shocked.

"Only if you prove to be an actual threat to the irken empire," Zim said. "But so far with your incompetence, I'm certain that the Tallest would be most accepting of you since you can't seem to get anything accomplished."

"You have accomplished anything, either!" Dib exclaimed.

"Yes, but I am _Zim!_" he exclaimed, feeling dignified. "That makes me okay."

Dib sighed. "Maybe I can side with some other alien whose ego isn't as big as this planet."

Zim chuckled as he led him back to his base. "Heh, stupid Dib-human. Not possible. ALL of our egos are huge."

Dib sighed again.

Zim brought Dib down to the bottom of the base and showed him the large screen where he would send a transmission to the Tallest.

"I'm surprised you actually allowed me to come down here," Dib said. "I thought you didn't trust me."

"I don't," Zim said. "I just know that if you do anything weird, I can just have the house pummel you in a couple of seconds. So I suggest you choose your motives wisely."

"You won't have to worry about me," Dib said. "Once I do this… I guess there's no turning back, is there?"

"Well, there is a turning back after this," Zim explained. "But the result generally ends with you being destroyed, so either turn back now or grow a pair of human balls and stick to your original word."

Dib blinked. "Are you experimenting with human phrases again?"

"… Yes. Did I do it right?"

"Yeah, you did," Dib said, rolling his eyes.

"Okay, good," Zim said. "What's it going to be, Dib-worm?"

"I'm… set. Let's do this before my body realizes how much of an idiot I am."

"Oh, don't worry," Zim said. "That feeling goes away." He hit a button on his console and the transmission was sent to the Tallest. Zim and Dib waited patiently until Red and Purple popped up on the screen.

"Greetings, my Tallest," Zim said, saluting.

Dib looked at him and figured that he should follow his lead. He turned to the screen again and said, "Greetings… my Tallest," he said in a faltering voice, doing a faint salute.

Purple blinked. "Zim… did you create a robot that looks and sounds like the human that keeps chasing you around and ruining your plans?"

Zim shook his head. "No, sir. Believe it or not, this is the real Dib-human. He has requested to talk to you."

Red grunted. "Zim, I'm going to avoid calling you an idiot for bringing a human to your base because you should already know that by now. My one question is why a human thinks he can talk to an Almighty Tallest."

Dib pushed Zim out of the way. "Because I have a way to end the Earth… my Tallest."

The Tallest looked at each other. Purple blinked and said, "That seems like…"

"A total hoax," Red finished. "You're a human. Why would you want to destroy your own planet?"

"Because I… because I… it's a really, really long story," Dib said.

"Well, we actually have an hour," Purple said. "We've been waiting for doughnuts, and we've just been sitting here since no one's been calling us. So we can use a good story."

"Really?" Red asked, turning to Purple.

"Come on, Red. I'm bored."

Red sighed. "Fine." He turned back to Dib. "You have 15 minutes to explain yourself and we'll let you know if we trust you or not. Otherwise, we have weapons installed in Zim's base. We'll be sure to get rid of you as soon as possible, especially since you know far too much information from the Irken Civilization. Your time starts… now."

Dib gulped. He gave them the watered-down version of the events that had been happening in the past couple of weeks. He also threw in some details of his childhood to show why he is so begrudging of the humans now. As he said all of this, he felt a little ridiculous talking about all of this with aliens, but… he felt like he could trust them.

And if he didn't trust them, he was going to be dead in a few minutes anyways.

No turning back now.

After Dib was finished speaking, he had used up a little over 14 minutes of his 15 minute time limit. The Almighty Tallest had to admit that they were impressed with Dib's intellect and his independent motives. Though, it all really came down to if he trusted him.

Red cleared his throat after giving Dib's words some thought. "Dib, you're not as stupid as Zim cuts you out to be."

"Um… thank you?" Dib said.

"But there's probably one thing you should know before you decide to destroy your own planet, or we decide to pummel you," Purple said.

Dib gulped, afraid that the pummeling was still on the table for him. "What is that?"

Red looked over at Zim and said, "Zim, exit the room."

"But, my Tallest," Zim pleaded.

"Zim… exit the room," Red said, sighing.

Zim sighed. He took the elevator back up to the main room and waited patiently for Dib and the Tallest to finish their conversation.

Red looked at Dib, and Dib confirmed that Zim was officially gone. "Dib, I'm going to be blunt. You're wasting your time."

"What, why?" Dib asked.

"Earth isn't even a part of the operation," Red explained. "We just sent Zim there to get rid of him. Whether he destroys Earth or not doesn't matter to us."

Dib blinked. "So all of that was true? Zim's here for nothing?"

Purple nodded. "Yeah," he said bluntly. "Zim's supposed to be banished for destroying our first operation and a portion of our planet. This was the next best plan."

Dib shook his head. "B-but," he mumbled.

"Forget about it, Dib," Red said, grimacing. "You're wasting your time."

Red was about to shut off the transmission, but then Dib got up closer to the screen and yelled, "Wait!"

Purple sighed. "What is it?"

"Earth is more valuable than you both think!"

Red and Purple looked at each other. "Why do you say that?" Red asked. "It's just a stupid planet just like all of the rest."

"Yes, but it has plenty of resources that you guys can use," Dib explained. "We have food, water, fuel, and gems and all of that kind of stuff. Zim's mission doesn't have to be a waste!"

Red blinked a few times. He opened his mouth to say something and then closed it again. Then he finally said, "Human, let's ignore all of that stuff for right now. Why do you care so much about Zim?"

"Yeah, and why are you joining a race of malicious invaders who want to destroy your planet?" Purple asked. "Other than for the fact that we're really awesome and make the best doughnuts in the galaxy."

Dib sighed, ignoring that last comment. "This may sound a little stupid to you guys, but Zim brought a bit of energy to my life. No human has managed to do that ever."

"So… your solution is to turn your back against them?" Red asked.

Dib looked to the ground. "Y-yes."

Red gave Dib a straight face. "Okay, then."

Purple looked at Red. "Okay, then?! You're fine with this."

Red crossed his arms. "Well… I'm not exactly sure what resources Earth has to offer. But… I'll have one of our own to do a diagnostic of Earth's components. We'll see if any of it is useful to us."

"And if the resources are useful?" Dib asked.

Red blinked. "Get Zim back in here."

Dib nodded. "Yes… my Tallest," he said with some hesitation.

"Oh my goodness, stop saying that," Purple said. "It sounds weird when you say it."

"O-okay," Dib said. He walked out of the room and brought Zim back in.

Red and Purple filled Zim in on what he missed from the previous conversation.

"If… if we find that Earth is useful," Red started, "then we'll send you the armada when we're ready."

"Y-you're going to send me the armada?" Zim asked, in awe.

"IF we deem Earth useful," Purple reassured Zim. "Otherwise… your only choices right now is to stay on Earth or go to Foodcourtia. We're not letting you back in the collective right now."

Zim frowned. "B-but."

"No buts," Red said. "You know what you did, and we're tired of sugar coating it for you."

"Be expecting an irken in a couple of days," Purple said. "He will give us a proper assessment of Earth, and we'll let you know if we're going to invade or not."

Zim was saddened with the news, but he still did his salute. If there was something that he was taught at the Academy, it was to be respectful to his Tallest. "Yes, my Tallest," Zim said with a forced dignified tone.

"Fine," Red said. He yawned and said, "I'm going to bed. I can only take so much weirdness in a day."

"I second that," Purple said. He shut off the transmission and the room went a bit dark.

Dib simply stared at the screen for a few moments. So much had just happened in the past 24 hours, and he had just solidified it all in a quick 30 minute conversation with an alien race. It was a lot for it to handle.

And it didn't help that Zim bonked him on the head with his own head.

Dib grabbed his own head and exclaimed, "Hey! Why did you do that, Zim?"

"Thank you, Dib-worm," Zim said, a lot of grimace in his voice. It was almost like he had to strain himself just to say those 2 words.

"Um… you're welcome," Dib said, rubbing his head. "But why did you just hit our heads together?"

"Isn't that the sign to show affection on Earth?" Zim asked.

"No!" Dib exclaimed. "We do things like… hug and kiss and things like that."

Zim scoffed. "Yeah, that sounds all too mushy for me."

"Whatever," Dib said. "And besides, why were you trying to show affection for me?" Dib asked, not really thinking straight since he had a headache.

"Isn't it obvious, stupid human?"

"Well clearly it isn't!" Dib exclaimed. "Stop being so cryptic."

"_Dib-human!_" Zim exclaimed. "You just convinced my Tallest to allow me to continue being an invader instead of sending me back to Foodcourtia! _Zim _is now an invader because of you."

"Yeah, but…" Dib thought for a moment. "I was only doing it so I can get revenge on all of the people who made fun of me in the past."

Zim pointed to Dib. "You're lying to _Zim! _I know that you're still uncomfortable about being an adversary in your own planet's destruction. Why are you lying to me?"

"Because you deserve better than to be banished to a planet where no one can accept you!" Dib exclaimed. "I feel like I'm the alien that was banished here and now no one wants to associate with me! I get it!"

Zim blinked. He then leaned forward and bonked Dib on the head again.

Dib grunted. "Dang it, Zim!" he yelled. "If we're going to do this, we're going to do it right." Dib leaned forward and connected his lips with Zim.


	5. Planning Ahead

Adaptations

Planning Ahead

Zim blinked. He then leaned forward and bonked Dib on the head again.

Dib grunted. "Dang it, Zim!" he yelled. "If we're going to do this, we're going to do it right." Dib leaned forward and connected his lips with Zim.

The kiss went on for a few moments until Zim separated from it. Dib seemed to like it a lot, chills going down his spine as he thought about the situation.

Zim, however, had a different idea of the kiss. "Blech! That's the human way of showing affection? There's so much _moisture_ and now I have all of your Dib _germs_ in my mouth."

"Yes, it's called a kiss," Dib said, getting pulled away from his thoughts. "And you're seriously telling me that you felt nothing from it?"

"I felt _something_," Zim said. He thought for a moment, his hand scratching his chin. "Hm… Zim thinks he'll need further experimentation on the matter. Do it again."

"W-what?" Dib asked, kind of confused.

"Do it again!"

"Oh… okay," Dib said. He didn't imagine how this would go down, but he didn't question it. He leaned forward and entered into a kiss with Zim again. This time it felt a bit warmer, and Dib moved his lips a bit to morph with Zim's. It lasted a bit longer until Dib eventually separated it, looking at Zim for a response. "What do you think?"

Zim blinked. He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again. He thought for a moment before finally saying, "I liked it. A little. Just a little."

Dib put his hands on his hips and smirked. "I think you liked it more than a little," Dib said. "I know that look on your face."

"Don't make this more than it has to be, you _human_!" Zim exclaimed. "Just accept the fact that Zim liked it."

Dib rolled his eyes. "Fine. I'll take that." He looked around the base and said, "Well… we got what we needed to get done. What should we do now?"

"We have to prepare," Zim said. "When this analysis irken comes to check out the planet's worth, I need to be ready with all of the proper supplies."

"Like what?" Dib asked.

"Hmm…" Zim thought for a moment. "The Voot. It needs to be repaired, because we'll be briefly returning to the armada to give them a briefing on how to conquer the planet."

"And how do you suppose we do that?" Dib asked. "We never actually planned how we're going to do this. Are your ships just going to go around the atmosphere and start destroying stuff?"

"No, we can't do that," Zim said. "If what you say is correct, then we need to destroy as little of the planet's surface as possible while also eliminating the humans. We need to conserve the Earth's resources."

Dib cringed right when Zim said 'eliminating the humans'. He had no intentions of backing out, but he was still entirely uncomfortable by the idea of destroying his own race, even if it meant getting rid of those that constantly opposed him. Though… now he trusted the irken empire a bit more. "So… what did you have in mind?"

"Well, now I'm thinking that you're going to be a very good adversary in my diabolical plan," Zim said, smiling.

"… Why?"

"Your father, the scientist," Zim said. "He seems to hold the most technology out of anyone on this planet, is that correct?"

"Basically, yeah," Dib said.

"Well… in order for this plan to be a success, we need two things to happen," Zim said. "We need some of your father's heavy equipment to be wiped out, and we need to make sure that he never knows that the invasion is going to occur. This is where you come in."

Dib blinked. "Y-you want me to… destroy my dad's stuff?"

"Yes!"

He turned around. "I can't do that. That's my dad's life's work. What kind of son would I be if I just destroyed all of it?"

Zim crossed his arms. "Might I remind you that your family will be among those to be destroyed in the invasion? You did say the ENTIRE human race, and that includes them, too."

Dib gasped. "No! You can't do that. You have to allow them to come with us."

Zim shook his head. "It is not up to me, Dib. Sending one human onto an irken ship is already enough hassle for the Tallest to take, and it took a mighty amount of convincing for them to accept you to join. You were there. They aren't lenient, and they are our leaders. If they see that your father, one of the brightest minds on Earth, comes onto the armada and tries to make the mess of the place before the invasion, then things will get ugly. For him, your sister, and for both of us."

Dib looked to the ground. "Then what am I supposed to do?" he asked. "I didn't really think this through, did I?"

"Not even a little," Zim said. "And I'm sorry to say, that you have now surpassed your opportunity to back out of this. The Tallest know that you have too much information on irken culture and technology. They will not allow you to live if you show even a little bit of defiance."

"I… I…" he turned around again. "Okay."

"Good," Zim said. "We're going to have to work on your reactions in these next couple of days. You worry far too much."

"I have a lot to worry about!" Dib exclaimed.

"Yes, but Zim has to look out for his kind, too," Zim said. "So, if you would like, you can stay here for a little bit, and then head downstairs to help me with the Voot repairs. Knowing you, you probably know how to take it apart and put it back together again without a blueprint."

Dib chuckled. "Yeah… I actually do."

"Alright, then," Zim said. "It'll be nice to have an assistant that isn't stupid _Gir_ that ruins everything." He looked around the room and then give Dib a quick kiss on the cheek before running over to the elevator and riding it to one of the lower rooms to repair the Voot.

Dib smiled. He felt that all of the pieces were coming together for him and Zim. Though… that didn't make things all that much easier for him to take.

Dib later joined Zim in repairing his ship. It didn't take very long, and Zim was able to easily add some nice attachments so he could go back and forth much faster. He was not hoping for another 6-month trip, so he wanted to make it as easy as he could.

After completing the repairs, Zim and Dib returned to the ground floor where Gir had prepared a low-quality form of nachos. Though, Dib was too hungry to complain. He grabbed a few of the chips and took a bite out of each of them.

Zim ate as well, though he wasn't as big of a fan for the cheese as Dib and Gir were. "So… you were pretty quiet while we were working. I know enough about human culture to know that that is bad. Are you feeling better from earlier?"

"You actually care?" Dib asked, curious.

"Would you rather I not?" Zim asked. "Because I'd be fine with that."

"No, no. It's okay. I'm fine with it," Dib said, munching on another nacho. "Yeah, I'm okay now. I guess I now get the chance to think this through, and well… I'm done freaking out."

"Good," Zim said. "That can't be healthy for you. Too much thought makes people's brains explode. That's why Zim doesn't think."

"Yeah, you can say that again," Dib said, chuckling.

Zim nodded, not sure what Dib was referring to. He simply dropped the subject. "But there's another reason why I asked. I still need you to go to your father's lab today if this is going to work."

"Yeah… I know," Dib said.

"No backing out alright?" Zim asked. "I can help you get in, but you know your dad's equipment more than I do."

"That's true," Dib said. "Do you want to go now?"

Zim nodded. "Yeah, the sooner we get this done, the better it would be for the both of us."

Dib sighed. "Fine… let's do this."

A half hour later, Zim managed to get Dib into his father's laboratory without too much trouble. The cameras were shut off and the guards were nicely distracted at the other side of the building.

Dib had asked Zim to wait outside, and he obliged. He was in the center of his father's many inventions. Many of them were large, and they were all fairly destructive. This was his main lab, and this was where everything was kept tight. But he knew his father far too well to let any of that stop him.

In his backpack were many small devices that he made himself. The primary use of them was to sap the energy out of any of Zim's technology, making it useless. The good thing about each of the saps was that they were small and discreet. It gave the illusion of a working machine, though it won't have the energy or capability to be destructive.

"I'm… sorry, Dad," Dib said. "But… this planet is no good. It has so many faults." Dib felt like he was slightly corrupted by Zim. A year with Zim could do that to any human, though… he finally felt that this was right. It was time for the era of humans to end.

He grabbed the bag full of saps out of his backpack and attached them to each of his father's creations, going from the bigger and most deadly to the smaller. When he felt that the most of his dirty work was complete, he grabbed a remote out of his backpack.

He hesitated for a brief moment as he looked down at it. Though… he finally gained enough courage to hit the switch on the remote. There was a whirring sound and the sound of electricity engulfed the room as one-by-one, the energy from the machines were sapped and rendered completely useless. At this point, the robots would have to be re-energized from the inside-out, or rebuilt completely. Both of which would take too long while being invaded.

Dib turned around and went over to where he entered and used it as an exit. He shut off the lights and hopped out of the laboratory where Zim was waiting.

"Did you do it?" Zim asked. "Or did you chicken out?"

Dib sighed. "Unfortunately, I did it."

Zim put his hands on his hips. "Well… look at it this way. Whether it worked or not, the armada is still coming. Would you rather it be a clean sweep across the entire planet, or would you like to be temporarily stopped by your dad's equipment while we destroyed most of the rest of the planet?"

"Yeah, you're not making it any better," Dib said.

Zim laughed uncomfortably. "Heh.. heh.. yeah. I'll be quiet now."

"Good," Dib said. "Let's head back to your house. Do you mind if I spend the night there? I don't think I can face my dad and Gaz right now."

"Yes, you can," Zim said. "I have a nice comfortable couch for the Dib-human to sleep on. Just watch out for Gir. He can be a bit of a… nuisance at night."

"I'll keep my eye open for him," Dib said, still not managing to smile. He walked with Zim back to his house. When they made it back, there was a shorter human waiting at the door. Zim was skeptical, because he was sure that he had activated the gnome security system.

"What are you doing on _Zim's_ front porch?" Zim blurted on. "_Tell me._"

"Getting pummeled by your gnomes for one thing," the man said. "They put up a bit of a fight, but didn't take too long to get rid of."

Zim looked around and noticed the gnomes scattered throughout the yard, one of them completely shattered. "W-who are you?"

The man pulled out a badge. Zim grabbed it and read it.

_Vale: Irken Diagnostics Officer_

"Oh, you're the one who is going to analyze the Earth," Zim said, apologizing. He handed the badge back to Vale and said, "We weren't expecting you until tomorrow."

"I managed to arrive early," Vale said. "Would you mind letting me in? I need to discuss with you about a few things before I start my work. I assume you are Zim and Dib."

"That's right," Zim and Dib simultaneously.

"Let me let you in," Zim said. He entered the house and was greeted by the robot parents. He allowed Dib and Vale inside before closing the door.

Vale pressed a button on his wrist and his body fizzled out for a brief moment. He was then replaced by an irken of a similar height. He was slightly taller than Zim and was wearing a grey uniform with his strapped to his chest. "Alright, Zim. I'm going to make this brief because I would like to get to work as soon as possible."

"Yes, sir," Zim said, getting a bit excited. This was the first step for him to be an actual invader.

"Mmhmm. It is to my understanding that there is technology on this planet that will be able to detect me and my ship as I orbit around. I'll need to use your base in order to block anything that can see me while I'm analyzing the planet since my cloaking device has been damaged."

"Yes, I can do that," Zim said. "_GIR!"_

Gir came running down and saluted. "Yes, my Lord."

"Gir, go down and emit signals that will disrupt any signals to the Earth's space stations. We want them to be as blind as possible."

Gir smiled. "Okey-dokey." He quickly went towards the elevator and did what he was asked.

"Good," Vale said. "If I experience any issues, I will be forced to evade and move away from the planet so I avoid being noticed. Otherwise, I should have an extensive report for you and a response from the Tallest in approximately 7 hours. I'll contact you with the full details when the analysis is complete."

"Thank you, Vale," Zim said.

Vale nodded. He changed into his human disguise and left the house for his own personal ship.

Zim closed the door.

Dib looked at Zim. He asked, "So… what do we do now?"

"My least favorite thing," Zim replied. "Wait..."

"Yeah, I kind of figured." Dib yawned and stretched out his arms a little. "Um… I'm getting a little tired. It's been a long day."

"Yes, I understand," Zim said, understanding that Dib went through an incredible amount of changes all in one day. "Why don't you sleep in m-…" he thought for a moment. "On second thought, you're sleeping on the couch. I'm not human sweat all over my new sheets."

Dib rolled his eyes, but he didn't complain. "Fine. What are you going to do?"

"I think I'm going to wait for Vale to finish," Zim said. "There's no way that I'll be able to sleep with the thought of what he's going to say to me."

"Okay…" Dib sat on the couch and then lied down. "Good night, Zim."

Zim frowned. He quickly entered his room and returned with a blanket. He wrapped it around Dib and said, "Good night, Dib. Ruin that blanket and I'll claw your eyes out."

"Okay, whatever. Thank you. Good night."

The next morning, Dib was shaken awake. It was only 4:30, and it was still entirely dark outside. Dib opened his eyes and noticed Zim shaking him. "Zim?" Dib asked. "Why are you shaking me?"

"Vale's done," Zim said. "He told me that the Tallest are going to be contacting me shortly. You should be awake for it."

"Oh," Dib said. He rubbed his eyes and said, "Fine. But I'm going to be a bit tired, so I'll try my best."

"Okay, well wake yourself up," Zim said quickly. He put his hands together and shook a bit. "We can't screw this up."

Dib yawned. "Zim, calm down. Honestly, I haven't seen you this shaken… well, ever."

"Zim can't _calm down!_" he exclaimed. "The next transmission will determine whether or not I become an invader or a server in Foodcourtia." He grabbed Dib's jacket collar. "Zim does _NOT_ want to go back to Foodcourtia. Two times is enough!"

Dib got out of Zim's grip and put his hands on Zim's shoulder. He was fairly awake at this point. "Zim, just wait for the transmission. If they see how buzzed you are, they're going to think you're weak. You wouldn't want that, would you?"

Zim slowly calmed his down. "No…"

"Good." Dib heard a beeping noise and turned to Zim's screen. There was a transmission coming in. "You ready for this?"

Zim nodded. He straightened himself up and then accepted the transmission. The Tallest showed up on screen and Zim and Dib saluted. "Hello, my Tallest," Zim said. Dib remained silent as he continued his salute.

"Hello, Zim," Red said.

"Vale has given us the results of your… planet," Purple said. "And Red and I have collaborated on whether or not to send you the armada."

Zim's heart began to pump faster and faster. He wanted to know, and he wanted to know right away.

"We have decided…" Red started. "That the Earth is worthy of invasion. Due to delays and other prior invasions, the invasion will take place in 3 Earth months. In the meantime, you'll have to ensure that all major defenses are down and unprepared for the invasion. Am I clear?"

Zim kept his extreme excitement in check while his Tallest were on screen. "Yes, my Tallest. Dib and I will manage the defenses."

"Good. And Dib, remember our conversation from before," Purple said. "You're now in this for the whole thing. Every irken involved in this invasion knows all about you and will not attack you… unless you show defiance. Otherwise, you'll be destroyed."

"Yes, my Tallest," Dib said.

Red blinked. "It's still weird when you say it," he said. "But whatever. We'll keep in touch, yadda yadda ya. Finally. I'm going to bed." He shut off the transmission, leaving Zim and Dib in darkness and silence.

Though, it didn't remain that way for very long, because Zim was now shaking uncontrollably. He then ran around the room with his arms spread out. "YEEEEEEEEEEEEESS!" He jumped onto the couch and started doing a little dance.

"_Victory for Ziiiiim!"_


	6. Waiting

Adaptations

Waiting

Zim was shaking uncontrollably. He ran around the room with his arms spread out. "YEEEEEEEEEEEEESS!" He jumped onto the couch and started doing a little dance.

"_Victory for Ziiiiim!"_ He ran around some more until he eventually ran into Dib. He wrapped his arms around him and said, "Dib-worm, you have no idea how happy I am. This is the best day of Zim's life!"

Dib blushed a little as he wrapped his arms around Zim. "Yeah, I have an idea of how happy you are. But, um… Zim. You know what you're doing right now, right?"

"Yes, I'm hugging you," Zim said, bluntly. "I can't stop shaking and I need some stability right now. So… enjoy it while you can, filthy human. This won't happen very often."

Dib blinked. "Uh… okay. I'm fine with that."

They hugged for a few moments until Zim broke it up. Zim let out a small squeal and said again, "I can't believe I'm going to be an invader. The armada is going to come here and Zim will be marked as the conqueror of Earth."

"Alright, Zim," Dib said, smiling a bit. "But you're going to have to calm down a bit. The Tallest said they aren't even going to be here for three months."

"Hmm…" Zim murmured. He placed a hand on his chin and said, "You're right, and we have to make sure that Earth's defenses are down until they get here. And I also have to make sure that you don't freak out within the next three months and decide to go against the irken empire."

Dib shook his head. "No… I think I've realized at this point what I've gotten myself into."

"Zim doesn't believe you," Zim said, glaring at Dib.

"Well you should," Dib said, crossing his arms. "I know what I'm doing is… not something I should do for the sake of the human race, but… it has to happen. Sometime in the past several centuries, there has been a turn in history where humans have become… despicable. And… I don't want to be a part of that anymore."

Zim nodded. "Eh, I buy it… for now," Zim said. "You'll just have to prove yourself to me by helping me destroy the defenses."

Dib kissed Zim's forehead. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever. By the way, do you ever stop talking?"

Zim rubbed his forehead. "I stop talking… when I need to."

"Fine, I buy it… for now," Dib said, chuckling. "You'll just have to prove yourself to me."

Zim pressed his head up against Dib's. "Are you mocking me?"

Dib nodded. "Yeah, I am."

Zim smiled. "Good. You're already learning how to be an irken." He bonked his head with Dib's and said, "Just don't do it very much with me. I'm your overlord and I don't appreciate it."

"You are NOT my overlord," Dib said.

Zim pressed his finger on Dib's lips. "Shh, shh, shh, Dib-stink. Let Zim dream."

Dib rolled his eyes and removed Zim's finger from his lips. "Alright, whatever. Overlord Zim, can we now get some sleep?"

"Hm… well since you said it so kindly to your Overlord Zim, then I guess I can allow it," Zim said, trying to act innocent about it.

"Good," Dib said. "Well… good night, Zim. We can start working on the defenses in the morning if you would like."

"I… don't see any problems with that," Zim said. He was a bit shocked, not realizing that Dib would be so helpful so quickly. Mainly due to the fact that Zim was so used to Dib meddling with his plans rather than helping him.

He snuck up behind Dib and planted a small kiss on his cheek. He then ran over to the elevator to his room. It slowly lifted him up and he whispered, "Good night."

Dib smiled, fairly hearing Zim saying "Good night" in the midst of the silence. He laid down on the couch and covered himself in the covers.

* One month later *

* Two months before the Invasion of Earth *

Dib was now living with Zim full-time, and neither one of them were going to school anymore. This set off some alarms for Gaz and Professor Membrane. In the past few weeks, many searches were conducted to find where Dib disappeared to. Zim decided that he would help by designing a disguise for Dib to wear as well. It was actually a modified version that Zim snagged from Tak when she was there last. So, like Zim, Dib had to put on the disguise whenever they left the house.

"You know, sometimes it feels weird that I have to hide myself from other humans," Dib said as he and Zim walked across town.

"I thought you would've gotten used to it now," Zim said. "Though, I guess you haven't gotten any irken training. We were taught in the academy to be perfectly comfortable in our disguises, otherwise we won't look natural."

"Oh, yes," Dib said, chuckling. "Because your disguise always looked natural."

"Exactly!" Zim yelled. "I was trained well. You… could use a little bit of work."

"Okay, fine," Dib said. "I'll work on it."

"Good."

"So where exactly are we going?" Dib asked.

"To a restaurant with actually decent food," Zim said.

"What? But I've been the one cooking for you for the past month."

Zim rolled his eyes. "Yes, that's if you can even put a decent meal onto the plate. Your Earth delicacies sicken me."

"Well, I'm trying," Dib said, sighing. "We're going to have compromise, you know. I'm not going to have a lot of Earth food when I join the irken empire in a couple of months."

"Yes, you should be thankful," Zim said, smiling. "Not only will you be at my side when I invade more planets, but you'll be able to taste the sweetness that is Irken food."

"What kind of food do irkens have?" Dib asked.

"Doughnuts," Zim said. "And a bunch of other snacks."

"That's it?" Dib asked. "How are you all not fat right now?"

"Why would we be fat?" Zim asked.

"Doughnuts make you fat," Dib explained.

"Doughnuts make you fat?!" Zim exclaimed.

Following their lunch, Dib and Zim returned to Zim's base and changed out of their disguises so that they could go back to work. "I told you that you would like a steak," Dib said.

"Okay, fine," Zim said as he popped out his human eyes. "But that's the only thing that I'll give you. Otherwise, everything else was disgusting."

"Do you have to complain about everything?" Dib asked as he wrapped his arms around Zim's waist.

"I'm not complaining. I'm just giving a proper criticism to your _ridiculous_ Earthling customs so that you can improve before Earth is destroyed forever. Destroyed by _Zim!_" He looked down at Dib's hands and frowned. "You know I don't like it when you hug me like that. Makes me feel weird."

"Get over it," Dib said. "I like it."

Zim growled a bit, but then calmed down. "Fine, do whatever you want, filthy human. As long as we get some work done later on. We have an irken ship picking us up in a month to take us away from this vulgar planet and bring us to the rest of the irkens. So in the meantime, we have to make sure the Earth is as weak as it can possibly be."

Dib released Zim. "Yeah, I know. But most of it is just maintaining what we've already done. NASA's satellite dishes are still disrupted and my dad still hasn't figured out that his weapons have been disabled."

"I'm aware of that," Zim said. He scratched the side of his head. "Hm, I guess I just didn't realize how easy this would be. I guess you were _REALLY_ meddling with my plans before, because now everything is all too… simple."

"Not much of a stupid human, am I?" Dib asked proudly.

"No, you're still very much _stupid, _Dib-stink," Zim said with his usual inflections. He put his hands behind his back and said, "I just so happen to tolerate your idiocy more than I have before."

"Oh, and why is that?" Dib asked with a devious smile.

"Because… because…" Zim's antennae fell. "Dib-stink, this is the third time you did this to me this week. Give it a rest."

"No, I want to hear you say it again," Dib said, crossing his arms.

Zim growled, but then rolled his eyes. He bonked Dib's head with his own and said, "Because I like my Dib-stink."

"Good," Dib said.

"But I also really, _really _hate him," Zim said.

"Fine, whatever Zim," Dib said. "So what would you like to do, then? There's much left is there?"

"Hm… I'm afraid not," Zim said. He sat on the couch and slouched a bit. "It's just taking SOOOO long. Zim doesn't _like _all of this… _waiting!_"

"Let's just watch some TV, Zim," Dib said.

"TV!" Gir yelled from the other room. He ran inside and jumped onto the couch, grabbing the remote. He turned on the TV and put it on a channel with a piggy show on it.

Dib sighed. "Seriously?"

"Just let him do what he wants?" Zim asked. "I'm telling you, when we return to the rest of the irkens, I'm secretly trading Gir for Skoodge's SIR unit."

"Really?" Dib asked. "You had him for over a year, and you want to trade him in now?"

"Hm…" Zim looked over at the robot and watched him giggle at the images on the screen. Zim couldn't help but give a small smile. "I guess I can keep him around for a bit longer."

"Yeah, that's what I thought."

* One month later *

* One month before the Invasion of Earth *

Another month had passed and things were going smoothly for Zim and Dib. Their relationship had developed a bit. Things Zim would normally hate would turn out to be more tolerable whenever Dib did it. And things that Zim found tolerable, he began to like. Dib noticed the change within Zim, and almost felt flattered that he was able to bring out that side of him. It was almost as if he was causing Zim to become more… mature. If even by a little bit.

Professor Membrane finally called off the searches for Dib, giving up hope on ever finding him. Dib found it a bit ironic that he had been searching for such a long time, when he had been in the same town the whole time. Though, he was fine with it. The less time he spent thinking about his family, the easier his experience with Zim and the Tallest was.

With another month passed, Zim and Dib were just about done with Earth. Dib was correct when it came to the Earth's defenses. Although he and Zim would have to check up on the satellites and Professor Membrane's machines every so often, they didn't have to do it very much. All of the pieces were falling into place for the Earth invasion.

"You ready up there?" Dib asked to Zim, who was on the roof.

Zim disconnected one last wire and yelled back, "Yes!" He slowly climbed off and jumped next to Dib. He looked back at his house. The house that he had been stuck in for so many months, and… it was about to be dismantled, leaving no traces of Zim ever being there.

"Doesn't this feel weird to you?" Dib asked.

"Taking down my house?" Zim asked. In reality, he was a bit upset to see it go. But he didn't want to admit that to Dib. "No. It's just a house."

"Oh, okay," Dib said, not sure whether to believe him or not.

"What's taking you two so long?" a voice said from behind Zim and Dib. There was an irken in the corner of the yard, trying to keep himself concealed from the rest of the neighborhood. He had a cloaked ship waiting for them on the street. Waiting to take them away from the Earth and back home. Their new home, that is.

"Just a second, sir," Zim said, saluting. He pressed a few buttons on a remote. First, the pipes and wires connecting to the adjacent homes detached themselves and returned to the base of the purple home. Zim then pressed another button that caused the home to slowly flatten, almost as if acid were dropped onto it and it was beginning to melt.

Zim turned around and Dib followed his lead. Collapsing wood and metal filled the air for the next few moments and then… silence.

Dib turned back around and noticed that Zim's home, in its entirety, was gone. The front lawn, the gnomes, and the big purple exterior. All of it was gone without a trace.

"Wow…" Dib said, shocked that it was all so simple to bring it down.

Zim walked forward and grabbed the "seed". The thing that essentially made Zim's house in the first place. "Well… I guess that's the end of that."

Dib walked forward and put his hand on Zim's shoulder. "You alright?"

Zim nodded. "Mmhmm."

"You sure?" Dib asked.

"I'll be fine," Zim said. "Can Zim tell Dib a secret?"

Dib nodded. "Yeah, what is it?"

"If it weren't for you, I considered just living on Earth as if it were my home," Zim said. "I never… I never expected to be saying goodbye to it so quickly."

"Yeah, I get that," Dib said. "This was my home for way longer than it was yours. Now… I'm saying goodbye to it forever."

Zim nodded. "Yeah, I know. But Zim is _not_ going to get all sentimental about that. I am an _invader_, and it is not my duty to have things like stupid _human _emotions."

Dib chuckled. "I guess I corrupted you a bit."

"Yes, you did," Zim said bluntly. "And it'll be up to you to fix it as soon as we get back. I don't want to come off as… sappy when I return to my Tallest. It'll be most unpleasant for you."

Dib rolled his eyes. "Okay, I'll do my best. But, you're going to have to help me out, too. I'm going to have to become accustomed to your irken lifestyle."

"I think I can do that," Zim said. "I am one of the best irkens that ever lived, after all. I'll make a fantastic teacher to the Dib-stink."

"Thank you," Dib said.

Dib and Zim then heard someone clear their throat. The irken was leaning against his ship and said, "Are we going to leave, or are you two just going to stand there all-day?"

"We're coming," Dib said.

"Let's go," Zim said. "The sooner we're off of this stupid planet, the better."

"I agree," Dib said.

Dib and Zim slowly entered the ship and the other irken went to the controls. He turned on the cloak once again and the ship went invisible, along with the people inside. They lifted off of the ground and left Earth's atmosphere.

Dib stared outside of the window as Earth got smaller and smaller as they sped away from it.

"Goodbye, Earth," Dib whispered almost inaudibly to himself.


	7. Ending

Adaptations

The Invasion

Dib simply stared out of the window as he looked down at Earth. He was up in one of the irken spaceships and was simply waiting for Zim to begin the invasion and end all life on Earth in one short day of destruction.

All at once, Dib felt good about the invasion and he also felt terrible. He would finally be rid of the planet that had rejected him and his mindset, and the thing that would be wiping out the Earth is the army of aliens that he had been trying to protect them from for an entire year. Now, he was on the side of the Irkens, being in a committed relationship with the leader of the Earth invasion.

Everything would be perfect for him… if he had someone to share it with. Zim was down on Earth… and so was Gaz and his father. He knew that he would miss them.

"Oh, there you are," a voice said. Dib turned around and noticed the Almighty Tallest Red.

"Do you need something… my Tallest?" Dib asked. He wasn't used to treating the Tallest like his leaders, but he knew that Zim would have wanted it.

"Let's skip the formalities for now," Red said. "I still think this whole thing is weird."

"Alright," Dib said, raising his head up to meet Red's face. "Were you looking for me?"

"Actually, Zim was looking for you," Red said. "He's kinda freaking out. He couldn't find you and he really wanted to talk to you before he left on the invasion."

"Oh," Dib said. "Well, let him know that I'm heading to our room right now."

Red stopped Dib. "That isn't necessary." He talked into his communicator and let Zim know that Dib was in the main viewing room. Zim seemed excited and thanked Red for the information.

"Alright, then. Thank you."

"You're welcome," Red said. He began to leave the room and turned around. "You know… you seem perfectly okay for a human who's about to lose his home."

Dib turned back to the window, watching the green and blue while it still flourished. "How can you call a planet with a bunch of selfish beings on it your home?"

"Hm… I guess I never thought of it that way," Red said. "You were really hated there, weren't you?"

Dib nodded. "Yeah… I was. Not anymore." He withheld a few tears, trying to remain strong for all of the irkens.

Red sensed this and wanted to say something about it, but Zim had turned around the corner and saw them talking. He turned to both of them and said, "I'll… give you two some privacy. Zim, I expect you on the head ship in ten minutes. This is your first invasion on a planet other than Irk. Don't be late."

"Yes, my Tallest," Zim said, saluting for Red. Dib smiled as he saw the act. He had watched Zim mature over the past few months, and he was glad that he was there to see it unfold.

Red went away and Zim approached Dib. He was wearing a uniform similar to the Almighty Tallest. He looked much more formal, ready for battle. Zim cleared his throat a bit and said, "Hey, you left the room early. Is Dib okay?"

Dib nodded his head. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just… I just wanted to see the Earth one last time before it's wiped out."

Zim frowned. "Is Dib having second thoughts about the invasion?"

"Of course not," Dib said. "I want this to happen as much as you do. It's just… weird, you know? I spent my entire life on that planet and now it's all going to disappear in a day."

Zim grabbed Dib's hands and tried to look in his eyes. "Zim gets it," he said. "When I was banished to Foodcourtia after Operation Impending Doom 1, I thought I was losing everything. My irken brothers and being an invader in general."

"Yeah, but… you were able to come back," Dib said. "I won't be able to do that here. And… I won't be able to see my family again."

"Zim is Dib's family, isn't he?" Zim smiled, trying to keep things positive before going off to destroy his first planet.

Dib returned Zim's smile. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I mean… I won't ever really be an irken like you are, but I guess this is pretty close."

"That's actually why I wanted to find you," Zim said. "Zim wants to give you a surprise."

"A surprise?" Dib asked, curious. "What kind of surprise?"

Zim had been holding a bag behind his back the whole the time he was in the room. He put the bag on the ground and removed a blue mechanism and showed it to Dib.

Dib looked at it with a surprised look and then looked back up at Zim. "Is that what I think it is?"

Zim nodded. "Yeah, the Tallest agreed to help me find someone to design a PAK that would be able to work with a human like you."

Dib's eyes glowed. "You… you made me my own PAK?" He grabbed the blue PAK from Zim's hands.

"Zim noticed that Dib was feeling uncomfortable around all of the irkens," he said. "He figured this would help you fit in now that you can call Irk home."

"I can call Irk home?" Dib asked.

"The Tallest seem to be okay with you," Zim said. "And… in a few hours, Dib's old home will be no more. He'll need a new planet to call home."

Dib smiled. He brought the PAK closer to him and it immediate ran cables into him and attached itself to Dib's back. He felt a striking pain surge throughout his body and he let out a little scream. But… in a moment, all of the pain was gone, and he felt a bit different. "Wo…" Dib said.

"That PAK isn't quite the same as ours, because our PAKs would destroy your body in about ten minutes. But, the designer told Zim that it would enhance your body function, and it will help enhance your brain. Dib should be able to learn and memorize more things now!"

Dib brought Zim into a hug, squeezing him a little bit. "Thank you, Zim."

Zim smiled, leaning his head on Dib's shoulder. "You're welcome, Dib-irken. Welcome to the family."

Dib smiled, eventually letting go of the hug. "Good to be here."

Zim nodded. "Well… Zim has to lead an invasion," he said, smiling. He leaned in and gave Dib a kiss. "Are you sure you don't want to come with Zim?"

"Nah… I'd rather be up here," Dib said.

"Yeah, I figured. Alright, well… Zim understands. He'll be leading the invasion on the other side of the planet that we were on," he explained. "Just… too many memories. Even for me."

Dib put a hand on Zim's shoulder. "You got this."

"I know!" Zim exclaimed, getting very excited. "I am an invader after all! It's in my veins." He gave Dib another quick hug before running out of the room to join the rest of the invaders for the start of the invasion.

Dib couldn't help but smile. He knew that this was Zim's dream, and he didn't want to do anything to stop him from fulfilling his dream.

He turned back to the window to find that some of the irken battleships were already approaching Earth's atmosphere and a brutal battle was about to begin.

Dib frowned. He was mainly thinking about Gaz and his father at the moment. He was thankful that they wouldn't have to feel the pain of being wiped away. The main reason that Dib woke up so early was so that he could go down to Earth and slip a pill into his dad's coffee mix and Gaz's cereal. The pill would knock them out and they wouldn't even realize it when they were wiped away from the invasion. That was the best he could do for them… even if they didn't believe him at the most crucial moment.

The next few hours passed as if they were only a moment long. Dib simply watched as life slowly grew cold on the Earth. Some of the larger explosions were easily seen from space, and he could see portions of the Earth's green tinge turn brown. When 95% of the irken battleships returned from Earth, save for a few that probably got destroyed by the military, he knew that the invasion was over and that it was successful.

Dib looked away from the viewing window and noticed that Zim was already standing there. He was the first to return from the invasion.

Dib walked up to Zim and wrapped his arms around him, bringing him into a tight embrace. He didn't cry or anything, but his feelings were apparent.

Zim didn't say anything. He had caught onto this after a couple of months: the best thing to say in a situation like this was nothing at all.

Dib separated the hug and asked, "Aren't they throwing you a big celebration downstairs? Shouldn't you be a part of that?"

"Zim wanted to make sure you were okay first," he said. "And besides, it's as much as your party as it is mine. You helped with the plan."

Dib nodded. "I know. But this is YOUR dream."

Zim smiled. "Yeah, and Zim fulfilled his dream and will continue to fulfill it. I don't need some _stupid_ party to let me know of that."

Dib smiled. "And I'll be right there with you when that happens." He leaned in and kissed Zim on the lips.

Zim happily obliged. Now that he was used to it, he actually started enjoying the "human" method to show affection.

They continued for another few moments until they heard a knock at the door. They ended the kiss and turned around to see both of their Tallest entering the room.

"Oh, sorry," Purple said. "Are we interrupting something?"

Dib shook his head. "No, my Tallest."

"Do you need something, my Tallest?" Zim asked.

"Well, we first want to congratulate you, Zim," Red said. "Despite all odds that we placed on you, you've managed to successfully invade Earth. There is a party going on downstairs for you, and we'll explain to you what will become of your future as an invader."

Zim bowed. "Thank you, my Tallest."

"And we have doughnuts in 5 different flavors!" Purple exclaimed. "Better come down quick before we eat them all."

Zim chuckled. "I'll be down in a moment."

Purple smiled and left the room. Though, Red stayed and slowly approached Dib. "Dib… I'm sorry to say this, but I feel that I have to. We did a diagnostic on the planet and it seemed pretty thorough. You are, as we know of, the last human in the universe."

Dib nodded. "Yeah, I figured. You don't have to worry about me, I'll be fine."

"Well… if it makes you feel better," Red started. "You are now one of us. That PAK of yours makes it official."

Dib smiled. "Thank you… my Tallest."

"Good," Red said. "Now, I expect you to be with Zim when he reports. Or you will get a… pummeling or something."

Dib stood up with pride. "I will, my Tallest."

Red nodded then exited the room.

Zim turned around. "How is it that you got the Tallest to like you so fast? Must faster than _Zim!_"

Dib smirked. "Simple. I just gave them a doughnut every day and told them how superior they were for the past couple of months."

Zim gasped. "So you have been going behind my back to impress my leaders with petty pastries and compliments in order for them to like you more?"

"Yep," Dib said confidently.

"That is _diabolical_." Zim kissed Dib's cheek. "Zim likes that."

Dib chuckled. "Good. Now I have no idea how I'm going to get them to stop asking me for doughnuts."

"Oh, you can't," Zim said. "Dib has dug himself into a sad, sad ditch."

"Can Zim dig Dib out?" he asked.

"Nope!" Zim exclaimed before laughing diabolically.

"Aw, come on…" Dib said, frowning.

Zim sighed. "Oh, fine," he said. "But only because Zim did the exact same thing and he knows how it feels."

Dib smiled. "Thank you. Now… do you want to head to your party or not?"

Zim nodded. "I do. Let's go, Dib-irken."

Dib walked with Zim down into the main area of the ship. "You know you can just call me Dib, right?"

"Zim knows," he said. "I just like to remind myself that I helped convert you from an annoying human to a not-so-annoying irken."

"Yeah, why are you my boyfriend?" Dib asked.

"Because you like it when Zim makes fun of you."

Dib chuckled. "Yeah, whatever."

The two of them went down to the party and had a good time. Despite being ridiculed for so long, Zim got a lot of praise from his fellow irkens, even getting some from the other invaders who were successful before him.

An after the party started, Zim was asked to give one last final speech. He did so and gave a somewhat motivating speech, though it was mostly just him boasting about himself.

Towards the end of his speech, he said, "Though, Zim couldn't have done this invasion alone. The plan for this invasion was also made by Invader Dib." The crowd cheered and Zim practically pushed on-stage. He pleaded for him to make a speech. Dib figured he would improvise, though… he felt he had a better plan. Something he had been devising for the past few days.

He got up to the microphone and said, "Hello, irkens. I am Dib, and according to the Tallest, it seems that I am now the last standing human in the universe. But, as sad as I am to see my planet get wiped out, I would like to let you all know that I am one of you now, too."

The crowd cheered at the comment. He quieted them down with a wave of his hand. "But… I would like to share with you a bit of human culture if you will allow me, too. It's something that we call… a marriage."

All of the irkens looked at him intently, especially Zim. He already had learned what a marriage was, but not in-depth.

Dib continued to explain the bare basics of what a marriage was. He then pulled out a ring. It was made from the same material as one of Zim's destroyed ship, a mix of red, purple, and maroon. "I would like to show you a little… demonstration, if you'll allow me to." Dib turned to Zim.

Zim's eyes went wide and the room went a bit silent. Dib went down onto one knee and Zim knew that the process was starting.

"Zim… I thought you would be my eternal enemy forever. I've stopped you time and time again from destroying, and today… I helped you. And I don't want to just stop with the Earth with you. I want to continue invading with you forever."

Zim blinked and his heart was racing. "G-go on."

"Zim… I know you're an irken, and you probably never expected this, but… will you marry me?"

Zim thought for a moment and then nodded. "Yes."

Dib smiled, wowed by the experience. He put the ring on Zim's finger and brought him in for a kiss. He kinda figured that the crowd would cheer for them like they would on Earth, but Zim knew better. All they heard was groans of disgust. They weren't exactly used to the PDA, but Dib didn't really care all that much.

Dib ended the kiss and turned to the crowd. "Oh, grow up. Or I'll pummel you."

"Hey, that's my line!" Purple exclaimed.

Dib chuckled uncomfortably. "Heh, sorry…"

Dib and Zim smiled at each other and the party went on.

After a couple of hours, the Tallest eventually gave a speech. They still didn't quite trust Zim to have an active role in Operation Impending Doom 2 after his act in in the first Operation. Though, they still allowed him and Dib to be a part of the team to salvage the resources on Earth and to find anything else of value on any of the nearby planets. Zim graciously accepted, even if he wanted to do more.

Shortly after, the party ended and everyone left to return home. The Tallest stuck around for a little bit and… tried to "congratulate" Zim and Dib for their marriage before they went on their merry way.

Zim and Dib stuck around in the large room as they watched the SIR units clean up all of the remnants of the party.

Zim yawned. "So what now?"

"I was going to ask you the same question," Dib said.

"Well, I WAS thinking about taking you back to our room so that we can mate for the first time, but now I'm just tired."

"Mate?" Dib asked, a bit shocked. "You would want that?"

Zim chuckled. "Zim kids with Dib."

Dib laughed a little. "I see. Well, if you're tired, then maybe we should go to bed."

"Yeah, and we can sleep in the same bed this time," Zim said, getting up and helping Dib up.

"Hm?" Dib asked.

"Isn't that what a married couple does?" Zim asked. "Zim wants to follow Dib's human culture, and you're going to have to help me figure some of this out."

"I'd be glad to," Dib said, walking hand-in-hand with him back to their room. A bright future was coming for Zim, and thus there was also one coming for Dib. He slowly fell into the collective of irkens, and in no time…

He too had adapted to become an invader… just like his husband.


End file.
